Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday warned foreign countries not to accept any asset offered by the Sri Lankan government saying he would ‘pay attention’ to these agreements when they come to power.

Addressing the ‘Jana Bala Sena’ protest rally organised by the Joint Opposition at the Vihara Maha Devi Park in Colombo, Mr. Rajapaksa said the government was leasing out national assets such as the Hambantota Port and the Mattala Airport in an authoritarian manner.

“There is a group of people behind this sale of assets. We request the international players not to purchase anything offered by this government. We will pay attention to them when we come to power. The government was not given a mandate to sell any asset,” he said.

He criticized the government’s move to increase Customs duty on small cars and said the government was not even paying any attention to the needs of the people who voted for it.

“The cost of living is skyrocketing. On top of that, the customs duty on vehicles were increased. There was a popular advertisement of this government before the election, which showed a girl assuring that the youth could buy vehicles if this government comes to power. These pledges have become jokes now,” he said. (Lahiru Pothmulla)